Christian biblical canon and scriptural authority in the 21st century

¶ … Christian Canon for the 21st Century

"If we [Christians] are to recover the canon and its authority, the work must go ahead hand in hand with mission to culture.

In turn, mission to culture demands the certainty and authority we can only possess from God and only through God's word in scripture."

- H. Dan. Beeby

Canon

In "No Loose Canon," H. Dan. Beeby, a former missionary in China and professor of Old Testament at Tainan Theological College, contends that contemporary crusaders aim to restore the Bible as the true metanarrative. Beeby poses a number of questions regarding current concerns that the Bible faces a crisis that "it has lost the authority once possessed by the church's canonical scripture" (Beeby, Canon and mission section, ¶ 3). In response to consideration of a canon for the 21st century, Beeby considers the great task of interpretation scholars to be "a case of listening to a series of debates within a literary parliament that has sworn allegiance to one sovereign Lord but still includes some traitors" (The dual friction section, ¶ 3). This paper which considers a canon the researcher could develop for Christianity in the 21st Century proffers the researcher's rationale for including and/or excluding particular books.

The early Church contributed to the concept of contemporary "Scripture," perceived to possess content which Jesus Christ fulfilled. Scripture is also considered "the written revelation of the word and will of God communicated to his people" (Tackling the Da Vinci…, s. 15). Canon, in Greek, kanon, evolved from kane, constitutes a word borrowed from the Semitic kaneh, and means "measuring rod" or "measuring stick," or "that which is a standard or norm by which all things are judged or evaluated" (Ibid, s. 16). The Canon of Scripture, in light of these definitions, denotes "a fixed collection of sacred writings that defines the faith and identity of a particular religious community" (Ibid). In other words, the Canon for Scripture consists of the rule or standard; the list which denotes authoritative and inspired Scriptures ("What Is Canon?"). Various Religious Canons

Various "religions," albeit subscribe to different canons.

In Judaism the canon consists of the books of the Old Testament only.

In Protestant Christianity, the canon is the body of scripture comprised in the Bible consisting of the 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.

In Roman Catholicism, additional books were added in 1546. These books are known as the apocryphal books: Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, The Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), and Baruch. I need to add here that Roman Catholicism maintains that the apocrypha was always inspired along with the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Armenian churches. The Protestant movement has not accepted the apocrypha.

In Mormonism, four additional books have been added to the Canon: The book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

In Christian Science an additional book has been added to the Canon. This additional book is called "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" written by Mary Baker Eddy.

In Islam, their inspired book is called the Quran. (Slick)

Principles Used to Make Choices

In addition to seeking "wisdom," as Proverbs 4: 7 directs, "Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding," the researcher additionally sought to insure the additional included books were historically accurate, as well as met the criteria of apostolicity, orthodoxy, antiquity, and widespread use.

Conclusion

The changes the researcher would include in the current Canon to create the Canon for the 21st Century would include the following: Judith, Tobit, the book called the Teaching (= Didache) of the Apostles and the Shepherd [of Hermas] (Tackling the Da Vinci…, s. 65). The researcher asserts that although the 21st Century may mandate that some changes be made in the Canon, ultimately, no one man/woman should make the changes alone. Instead, he/she should only proceed with perceived needed changes with the prayer, support and contributions from others seeking to share the truth in love - under the direction of the Holy Spirit.